Trench-filler.



No. 720,906. PATENTED FEB; 17, 1903. I G. EILRIGH & D. BRECKENRIDGE.

TRENUH FILLER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.17, 1902.

30 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EILRICH AND DAVID BRECKENRIDGE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TRENCH FlLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 720,966, dated February17, 1903.

Application filed November l'l', 1902. Serial No. 131,707. (No model.)

To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES EILRIGH and DAVID BRECKENRIDGE, of Chicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have in vented a new,useful, and Improved Trench- Filler, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,-forming a part of this specification, in which similar lettersof reference in the different figures indicate like parts.

In making connections with sewers and gas and water mains upon publicstreets and roads it is customary to excavate lateral trenches for thereception of the drains or other stubs extending to the several adjalarity of the street-level, all of which is here-' inafter moreparticularly described, and definitely pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of a machine embodying thefeatures of our invention; and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional viewthereof, taken upon the line 2, Fig. 1, viewed in the direction of thearrow there shown.'

Referring to the drawings, a represents the main frame of our machine,which consists, preferably, of two long straight runners b 1),

arranged parallel to each other and connected by a series of two ormore, but preferably four, cross-bars c, rigidly bolted to said runnersby means of bolts 03. Diagonal braces e e are also bolted in like mannerto the forward end of said frame to impart rigidity thereto, whilebetween the rear cross-bars o c we secure boards f to serve as aplatform upon which the operator may stand to operate the machine.

A draw-bar g, which isarranged between and parallel with the runners bb,is securely bolted to the forward cross-bars c and is provided with aclevis h, to which the motive power may be attached for propelling thesame.

Bolted or otherwise rigidly attached to the second cross-bar o from thefront is a clevis or eye 3', to which is jointedly attached, preferablyby means of a'bolt It, the forward ends of the frame of a scraper,(designated generally by the reference-letter Z.) Said scraper consistsof the inclined diverging bars at m, having handles 17. 'n at the upperends thereof, the downwardly and'forwardly inclined supports 0 o, theupper ends of which are bolted, respectively, as shown at 19, to thehandlebars, the horizontal scraper g, which is rigidly bolted to thelower ends of said supports 0, and the bars T, which are bolted to saidscraper at or near its ends, as shown, and extending forward and looselyor jointedly connected, in common with the handle-bars m, to the boltIt. The scraper-bar q is faced in front with a metal plate 8 to protectit from wear and to form a cutting edge. The runners b are roundedupwardly at their forward ends, as shown at t, Fig. 2, upon the drawbarg. V

The frame a is intended to be drawn upon the ground like a sled, fromwhich it will readily beseen that the forward end of the scraper-framemust always maintain a fixed relation to the plane of the streetslevel,while thescraper is free to be moved up or down or sidewise, as theoperator may deem necessary. In operating our improved device theattendant stands upon the platform f and grasping the handles a isenabled by holding the bottom of the scraper-blade upon a level withthebottom of the runners, which serve as a guide, to scrape the piles ofearth into the trenches and by lifting'on the handles when the scraperis over the trench to prevent the latter from dropping'therein andstriking the solid earth upon the opposite side of the trench. Thedevice may be propelled by means of two or more horses driven uponopposite sides of the street, so as to avoid the trenches, or by meansof a long'rope, an engine, and winding-drum.

We prefer to make the runners from eighteen to twenty feet in length,which is sufficient to enable the device to pass over trenches from sixto eight feet in width while maintaining a general level.

Instead of having a jointed connection in the nature of a swivel likethat described and shown in full lines the forward ends of the bars m mand 1' r may be attached to eyebolts u, u, placed farther apart, asshown in Fig. 1, in which the respective bars named are indicated indotted lines. Such a construction would permit of an up and downmovement only of the scraper. In such a case it is obvious that thelength of the scraper-bar q may be increased.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1. In a device of theclass described, the combination with an elongated frame having straightrunners, of a transverse scraper jointedly attached at its forward endto said frame between the front and rear ends thereof, a platform uponsaid frame in the rear of said scraper, and handles upon said scraper inoperative proximity to said platform.

CHARLES EILRIOH. DAVID BRECKENRIDGE.

Witnesses:

D. H. FLETCHER, CARRIE E. JORDAN.

